Zelda: Between Time
by Deltoran Merchant
Summary: Ganondorf has been banished and Link has said goodbye to Navi, now with peace restored he wants to spend time with the girl he's helped so much, but spent so little real time with; Zelda. This story simply looks at the time Link and Zelda spent together before Navi's loss became too much for Link to handle and he set out to find her.


**Zelda: Between Time**

**Chapter 1**

Link was still fighting back a few tears as he made his way quickly towards Hyrule Castle. When his fairy friend, Navi, made it clear that she had to leave his side now that her role was complete he'd put on a brave face to say farewell; watching her flutter up and out one of the Temple of Time's windows. Then she was gone, his best friend, the one who'd been by his side through everything, she was gone.

"I'm not letting it all slip away," Link muttered as he ran. Sure he was glad to be eleven again, and to have a chance to live seven years instead of being in an enchanted coma, and with Ganondorf sealed away the world would be peaceful for a long time. Except it also meant that people no longer knew about the Hero of Time, and that… was both disappointing and helpful. On the one hand he wasn't a celebrity and got to live a normal life, and he by no means intended to stop helping people. On the other hand it would've been nice to get a little recognition for all he'd done. Plus he'd made a lot of friends who now wouldn't recognize him.

However if Ganondorf was removed from Hyrule, then it meant that, if he was right, the other person he didn't want to lose would still be there. 'Please let me be right,' he thought as he snuck by the guards in Hyrule Castle. To be honest he had to wonder if Ganondorf ever even had to try, the Castle Guards were a bit pathetic. The maze of hedges and walls that formed the gardens, coupled with the guards being very slow and apparently hard of hearing, made sneaking in almost as easy as walking in the front door. Link thought so anyways.

He turned a corner, made his way by the final guards and entered into the ending circular section of the garden. This part was by far the prettiest, with windows looking into the throne room of the castle, as well as other rooms, and a ring of clean water around the edge of the garden. None of that mattered to the young warrior though, ahead of him was proof that he was right. A girl his age, dressed in an ornate white and purple dress with a hat that Link never really figured out the name of.

At the sound of his footsteps the girl, Princess Zelda, turned around and a look of surprise came to her face. The two stood for a moment, staring at each other. Link felt like his voice was caught in his throat and he couldn't get it unstuck. Behind Zelda through the window he saw that, where the Gerudo entourage and Ganondorf had been before, there was now Nabooru inside pledging allegiance to Zelda's father. "L-Link!" Zelda cried with surprise.

"It worked then," Link stuttered.

"Oh… yes," replied Zelda, doing nothing to ease the awkwardness between them. "He's gone, locked outside of Hyrule's timeline."

"That's good," Link replied, strolling across the garden a little.

"Why did you come?" Zelda asked, that very question making Link's heart flutter and feel like it was beating in his throat. But her tone was truly curious, not accusatory. "After all that I put you through… I can't believe you'd ever want to see me again," the princess added sadly.

"W-well," stuttered the boy, feeling more awkward as the moments passed. There he was, barely dressed in just his green tunic, bandolier, boots, and underwear, while the girl before him still stood as regal as she had when she was eighteen. Link could face wild monsters and evil witches without a second thought, but here he was stuttering like one of kokiri friends in front of Mido. "I wanted to see… if it worked."

"Oh… is that all," Zelda replied, sounding slightly disappointed.

"And… I wanted to see you," Link added.

"Really!? Why?"

"Well, it all feels like a dream now, those years that never happened. It's like I'm waking up from it, and it's all fading away."

"I know the feeling. I've heard the Guards mentioning it too." Zelda paused to look around, finally realizing what was missing, "Where's that fairy friend of yours?"

"She left," Link said shortly, trying to keep his sadness from consuming him.

"Oh… I'm so sorry," Zelda said, strolling across the garden a ways.

"Zelda, there's something I wanted to ask you," Link said, "All the time I was fighting I thought of you, of the time we could spend together." He paused to take a deep breath and prepare himself for pressing onwards. "I know- that is- will… will you," he stuttered.

"Will I what?" Zelda asked.

"Will you go out with me," Link said quickly. There it was he'd said it. He'd waited seven years in two directions to say it, now he'd said it. His heart was going crazy and he half wished the ground would swallow him up right there. He couldn't even look Zelda in the face at the moment, so he fiddled with his bandolier's buckle, hoping it looked like he was tightening it.

"I will," Zelda replied, making Link's heart skip a beat as he hoped he hadn't just imagined that response.

"You will?" Link asked anxiously.

"Of course I will," Zelda said with a smile, "I'll need to ask my father if it's okay to leave the castle, but I would love to spend some real time with you."

"I'm so glad you feel that way."

"We never really got to know each other well, but I always wanted to." She walked to his side with a smile on her face, and Link couldn't help but smile too, while inside he felt more like jumping for joy. "Come on; let's go ask my father if it's okay. The meeting with the Gerudo was the last for the day, so he should be free by the time we get to him."

She grabbed his hand and dashed through the garden towards a small postern door that led into the castle. Now that he was with her the guards didn't seem to have any objections to his presence at all. This turn of events had cheered him right up. If his friendship with Zelda didn't slip away, then maybe, he thought, he'd be able to merge the pieces of the adult life he'd lost with his new life, or maybe this was his original life. 'Time travel's confusing' he thought as Zelda lead him into the castle.

When the guards saw him with the princess he noticed a sort of mixed reaction. Some were confused at how he'd managed to get in, some saluted him, and some grinned and offered compliments on a job well done, even if they couldn't remember all the exact details. That some people at least partially remembered was gratifying to Link, though he knew that was a little selfish.

As luck would have it they encountered Zelda's father just emerging from the throne room. It was actually the first time Link had gotten a good look at the King of Hyrule. He was a tall man, at least as tall as Ganondorf, so even in his eighteen year old body Link would still have had to look up. The King was also looked pretty strong too, though age and many meals were taking their toll and he was slightly overweight now. Like Zelda, the King's hair was blond, but was much darker and parts of it were now grey. Still, he wore the red robe and crown of his station proudly, and carried himself with a strong and royal poise.

"Ah Zelda, I see you are with the young Hero of Time."

"Yes daddy," Zelda said, "Oh Link, this is my father, King Alvar Hyrule."

"I'm glad to finally meet you Your Majesty," Link said, kneeling down and drawing his sword to plant its tip on the floor, "I am Link, the Hero of Time, and I'm at your service should it be required."

"Well-mannered I see that is a good trait to have. However Link I believe you have done more than enough for me and my daughter already, now rise and ask me what you truly want to ask."

'He already knows? Guess that's why he's the king,' Link thought as he got to his feet. "Well sir, I was wondering if Zelda could be allowed to leave the castle with me for a…" he trailed off, feeling too nervous to continue.

"For a…?" the king asked.

"For a date," Link said, struggling to force the words out.

"Of course, as long as she remains with you."

"Don't worry sir, I won't let any harm come to her."

"I know you won't."

"Thank you sir," Link said, at which point Zelda cheerily grabbed his hand.

"Thank you father. Come on Link."

The two of them dashed out of the castle almost as fast as they'd entered, and Link was glad he could use the main gates for a change. They slowed down to a walk when they got out to the road leading down to the town. "So Link, any ideas where to go?" Zelda asked.

"Well… there's a hill just outside town that's kind of nice. We could hike over to Lon Lon Ranch if you like, but Malon might force me to help out around the farm, since her dad sleeps all the time."

"Is it true the owner of that ranch fell asleep outside the castle once?" Zelda asked.

"Yep, I was the one who woke him up. He tore off after that. It was rather funny."

"I can imagine. I think the hill will be nice enough, best not to go too far."

They passed through the gate on the road to the town during which Zelda grabbed Link's arm and held herself close. "Wow, your arm is so solid and strong," she said, squeezing his hardened muscles.

"Yeah," Link said, feeling flattered, "I guess I've gotten pretty strong from my adventures, though I did use to swing deku sticks around. I was thinking of seeing Darunia for a workout though, I want to become strong enough to lift bomb flowers without this bracelet."

"Can you flex for me?" Zelda asked.

"Oh, uh, sure," Link replied, flexing his arm to show a quite decently sized bicep.

"Like a rock," Zelda said with awe, squeezing his muscle, "I knew you were strong, but it's kind of different to see such physical evidence of it."

"Aw, thanks Zelda," Link said, trying to hide his blush, "Come on, let's get through town quickly."

It was his turn to dash ahead, leading Zelda along. They crossed through the town and several people stopped and bowed to Zelda, to which she smiled and continued trying to keep up with her date. Finally they neared the gate and Link slowed down here as they crossed the drawbridge and exited out onto the rolling plains that consisted of Hyrule Field.

Almost out of habit he reached for his shield, grabbing the sturdy, ornate wooden Deku Shield and holding it out. "I need a better shield than this," Link muttered. "There's only so much a wooden shield can do."

"Would you like me to commission the blacksmith to make you one?" Zelda asked.

"Oh… I couldn't ask you to spend money on me."

"I'm the Princess of Hyrule," Zelda said with a giggle, "I don't have to pay. Besides you've done so much for me, and for everyone, you deserve a little something in return."

"I'm getting it right now," Link said, holding Zelda's hand a bit more tightly.

"Aw, thank you Link, but consider it my 'thank you' gift. Is there any specific details you'd like?"

"Well… I do like the Hylian Shield's design; it'd be nice if it could have a design like that."

"Consider it done then. Is that the hill you meant over there?" Zelda asked, pointing to a slope at the top of which was the end of a long wall that stretched across the field.

"Yup, I know it' a bit of a walk, but it's not too far," Link said, putting his shield away.

They walked in silence for a little bit, just enjoying each other's company. The talk about a shield made Link think about getting the Kokiri Sword worked on. It was a small sword, with an ornate wooden hilt with a ruby in the center of the guard. However like his shield that hilt was sturdy, but probably wouldn't last in the long-term. If he got a metal hilt instead, that would definitely be helpful. He didn't want to tell Zelda that though, or she'd offer to have that worked on as well, and he wanted to tend to his sword himself.

"So Link… what do you see yourself as?" Zelda asked at length.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you're a Hylian, but you were raised a Kokiri, so who do you feel more like you're one of?"

"Hm, I never thought of that," Link replied, taking a moment to think. "I guess I feel more like a Kokiri than anything else, or maybe half-Kokiri and half-Hylian. I know I'm going to grow up, but I guess I relate more to my Kokiri friends."

"Wow. Do you, you know, remember your mother at all?"

Link shook his head. He'd thought about learning a bit more about his parents, but he wasn't really sure who to ask. His dad was a knight, and his mom was just a mom, but he considered her a hero in her own right. She got him to safety and took a big chance in entering the Kokiri Forest hoping that it would end up fine for him. The Kokiri weren't exactly fond of visitors; he'd once seen Fado passively threaten someone for intruding too far with a spear drawn. 'Actually Fado's creepy under any circumstance,' he thought. "What about you? What was it like being another race 'Sheik'?" he asked Zelda, using her alias.

"Oh shut up," Zelda said with a giggle, while Link laughed. "I already knew a lot about the Sheikah from Impa, though now I think about it she conveniently left out all the things that went on in the Shadow Temple."

"You know more about that creepy place besides it being creepy?"

"Yes. Remember, the Sheikah are the protectors of the Royal Family, and the Hylians as a whole. They're our 'shadows'. So if things threaten us, the Sheikah would make them 'disappear'."

"You mean the Sheikah dragged enemies of the kingdom off to the Shadow Temple?"

"Yes. They believe in fighting darkness with darkness. So murderers, would-be conquerors, those who would exploit the innocent for money, they were all taken to the Shadow Temple for torture or execution. It is… a very grim aspect of Hyrule's history."

"I'll say."

They returned to walking in silence, holding hands again, until they arrived at the hill, at which point they laid down and gazed up at the sky. "So Link," Zelda began snuggling up closely to him, "Can you tell me more about your Kokiri friends?"

"Oh sure. You know Saria obviously, she was sort of like my big sister, and of course my best friend. I think some of Kokiri knew I was an outsider, but Saria always stood up for me. All of us admired her really; I guess she was sort of the 'town mom'.

"Then there's our chieftain Mido. He definitely knew I was an outsider, 'cause he never liked me. He always called me Mr. No-Fairy and wouldn't let me play games with him, and a couple times he took my rupees just because I found them in the grass. He even said the Deku Tree's death was my fault. I wish we could be friends though, because he's not a bad person.

"I know one Kokiri really liked Mido though, she's this girl named Fado and she's kinda creepy. We're all a little bit afraid of her, because she represents the Kokiri presence in the Lost Woods and she's sort of the vice-chief. One of my friends Firio told me that Fado actually can make people get lost in the Lost Woods if she doesn't like them, and he said she can summon Skull Kids and do other forest magic, and even wind magic. But when I snuck up on her with the Mask of Truth on she just screamed and threatened to tell Mido on me, so I'm not sure how true that is. She is creepy though."

"Who's Firio?"

"Oh, as I said he's just a friend, has sort of long hair and green eyes. We used to spar with deku sticks. He's actually one of the oldest Kokiri in the village, I think a hundred and sixty or so, if I owe anyone for training me it's him. He always told me stories while I was growing up. This one he told me, he said that the Kokiri came from an ancient race of bird-like humanoids with bushes on their backs. I'm not sure how much I believe that though."

"What happened to him?"

"The Great Deku Tree assigned him to Lost Woods patrol shortly before I met Navi, and I never saw him during my trips into the woods. Lost Woods patrols go really deep into the forest though, deeper than even the Sacred Forest Meadow, not even the Deku Tree himself knows everything about those regions. Some of the guys said they heard a rumour that there's a huge pit deep in the woods, with an ancient building overlooking it."

"That sounds oddly familiar," Zelda replied.

They fell into silence again, staring at the sky and watching the clouds. Link occasionally broke the silence to say what he thought a certain cloud looked like. It was quite warm out though and Link could see the end of Zora's River flowing by temptingly a bit of a distance away. "So what about you Zelda?" Link asked, "What's it like being Princess of Hyrule?"

"Well… kind of boring really. I love my father and everything, but as his child I have to practice magic and politics and learn proper manners and do all these other things to perform my role and prepare for when I'm queen."

"But you get that big castle to live in, and I bet the food is really good. Plus your magic was really helpful when fighting Ganon."

"I do like learning magic actually, and I like Impa's stories."

"Do you ever play games with any of the kids in the castle?"

Zelda shook her head "There aren't really that many kids in the castle, and I'm not really allowed to play with them. I have my studies and stuff."

"Wow, that's too bad," Link replied, "Next date I'll take you to Kokiri Forest and you're going to get to enjoy being a kid."

"Aw, you're so sweet Link," Zelda said, hugging him as best she could from their current position. "You know it's interesting you mention those bird-like ancestors of the Kokiri, because there's this story in the Royal Family that says the first Hylians came from the sky, and the first beings they met were the bird-bushes of the forest."

"That is interesting," Link replied. "Alright that's it," he said suddenly, jumping to his feet, "I'm going for a swim. Race you to the river!"

With that he was off, while Zelda tried her best to keep up. For his part he tried to take the handicap of her dress into account, but he also wanted to win. It wasn't exactly a short distance either, but he was a fast runner. And he knew Zelda wasn't exactly slow, just hindered. Either way he managed to beat her, and sat on the river bank while he waited for her to catch up.

"That wasn't fair," Zelda said when she caught up, "You don't have a dress in the way."

"I tried to go slower, but it _was_ a race," Link said, taking off his bandolier, hat and boots.

"What're you doing?"

"Going for a swim," Link replied while he unbuckled his belt.

After he made sure his gear was all together he pulled his loose tunic over his head, leaving him in just his underwear; a pair of simple shorts with a short drawstring. They weren't long, only barely reaching the top of his thighs, and they were fairly tight too. He didn't care, in fact he really didn't notice.

His torso was lean and decently well-muscled, with each muscle showing and being well-developed for his age, while his skin bore scars here and there from his fights. In fact his toned muscles showed all across his body, and Link couldn't help but notice Zelda looking at him. "Like I said before," she said, "It is quite a different experience to see such physical aspects of your strength."

"Thanks Zelda," replied Link, feeling flattered agan, "Come on! You gonna swim too?"

"I think I'll just watch you. Father would be most displeased if I got my clothes wet."

"Suit yourself," replied Link, jumping into the river with a 'cannonball' style.

The cool water was definitely refreshing, and he was reminded of many a summer day in the Kokiri Forest where everyone played in the pools of water. Once Saria brought them all to the Sacred Forest Meadow as a special treat and they played in the water there and in the maze. There weren't any crazed Deku Scrubs there back then. He made sure to tell Zelda this story as he paddled around in the river.

"I don't mean to brag, but one of the Zoras once said I was a very graceful diver," Link said proudly.

"Is it true you ended up engaged to Princess Ruto?" Zelda teased.

"Wha- well um- you see- come on Zelda, that's mean," Link pouted.

"So was challenging me to a race when I have a dress on, it's revenge time," Zelda replied cheekily, "So is it?"

"Well the Zora's Sapphire is a jewel that the Princess of the Zoras is supposed to give to the man she wants to marry, so by giving it to me we're technically engaged."

"Speaking of the Spiritual Stones, we have to return those. We can't have them sitting in the Temple of Time just waiting for someone to try and open the Door."

"Hey! This is a date, stop talking about business," Link protested.

"Sorry."

They continued to chat about various things, taking brief breaks when Link decided to dive down to the bottom of the river. About thirty minutes later he climbed up on the river bank and sat next to Zelda again to dry. "That was fun," said Link, stretching out on the ground while Zelda traced a finger over each of his scars.

"Do you know where each of these came from?" she asked.

Link shook his head, "If I had a green rupee for every time some monster hit me with a rock or a deku nut or plowed into me, I'd be richer than the Royal Family."

"You're exaggerating."

"A little, but you'd be surprised how much punishment I can take."

"I don't like thinking about you getting hurt," Zelda said, shaking her head, "Seeing you get smacked by one of Ganon's swords, and now hearing all this, it makes me worried and guilty about all I put you through and."

Her mood had dropped and she seemed like she was getting close to crying. Link sat up and hugged her, "It's okay Zelda, you didn't put me through anything. I wanted to help and to protect Hyrule, and I can handle anything that comes my way. A few scrapes and scratches are just part of the job," he explained softly. "And I'll always come back to you, I promise."

"Thank you Link," replied Zelda after a short silence in which she returned his hug, "You're right, I shouldn't worry about you."

"After I've finished drying off I'll take you to a pub in town if you like."

"Oh that'd be lovely, thank you Link. I hope they don't mind having the princess though, I don't want any special treatment."

"Don't worry about it, I'll make sure they don't," Link assured.

After another thirty minutes Link got dressed again and the two made their way back to the town. As Zelda predicted her appearance in the pub Link had in mind caused something of a stir and Link had to repeatedly ask that they treat her like a normal person. They shared a bottle of Lon Lon milk while they ate grilled cucco breast and mashed potatoes, and throughout it all Link could feel the eyes of some of the other boys burning the back of his head with jealousy.

"Guess not everyone remembers," he said quietly to Zelda while he took a drink from the bottle.

"It's probably for the best."

When they'd finished they left and walked back up the castle road as the sun began to set. Link could hardly believe how much had happened in this one day. Then at last they were back at the front doors of the castle. "Well good night Zelda, I had loads of fun," Link said.

To both his surprise and delight Zelda replied by kissing him on the cheek. "And thank you Link for taking me out," she replied, "I had a lot of fun, and I'm glad we got to have some real time together."

After another kiss she entered the castle, leaving Link feeling overjoyed at everything that had happened. Taking his Fairy Ocarina he played the song called the Minuet of Forest that teleported him to the Sacred Forest Meadow, and from there it was a simple walk to return to Kokiri Forest.

It was quite dark by this point, and everyone had gone inside to bed. Well, everyone except Fado who Link could vaguely see standing on her little post in the middle of the forest. He made his way home, knowing she was watching him, and when he got there he gladly collapsed onto his bed and, in moments, was asleep.


End file.
